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Erik Spoelstra taking responsibility of voting for All-Star reserves ‘a lot more seriously’ than past years

Head coach Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat follows the play during the first half of the NBA game against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena on January 3, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

MIAMI — Erik Spoelstra isn’t sure how the new voting format that determines All-Star starters works. And he isn’t sure how Thunder guard Russell Westbrook was left out of the Western Conference’s starting lineup.

“How is Russell Westbrook not in the starting lineup?” Spoelstra asked Monday morning.

Starters previously had been selected solely by fan voting. But this season, All-Star starters were determined by a combination of fan, media and player voting.

The player voting produced some interesting results. Mo Williams and Ben Simmons were among the players who haven’t played a minute this season, but received votes from other players around the NBA.

“I am very disappointed in the players,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said before Monday’s game in Miami. “They asked for a vote and a lot of them just made a mockery of it. I don’t know what the point is. It was too bad.”

The new voting system ended up having a big effect.

For one, Bulls guard Dwyane Wade would have been named an All-Star starter under the old system. Wade finished second in backcourt voting in fan balloting, but since he finished sixth in both player and media voting, he did not make the Eastern Conference’s starting lineup.

“I know how important it is to players and especially to guys that are giving their heart and souls into the game and should be rewarded for it,” Spoelstra said. “So I do have to admit in some years past, I would just given it to my assistants. Not anymore. We actually have a staff meeting about it so we’re responsible. I think that’s the ultimate respect for players.”

Heat center Hassan Whiteside and guard Goran Dragic hope to receive that sign of respect when All-Star reserves are announced Thursday.

According to the NBA, Whiteside finished 11th in the fan vote, 14th in the player vote, and eighth in the media vote among Eastern Conference frontcourt players. Dragic finished 17th in the fan vote, tied for 15th in the player vote, and did not receive a vote from the media among Eastern Conference guards.

“I told the same thing to Hassan. It’s the ultimate respect,” Spoelstra said. “If you’re going to leave it to whatever, players aren’t all voting, fans you have no idea where that’s coming from. With coaches, you may agree or disagree or not like them or not had good experiences or had great experiences with coaches. But coaches are paid to figure out who helps teams win and I think that’s the ultimate compliment if you get voted in by coaches. So I’m taking that responsibility a lot more seriously that I have in the past.”